When compairing air chambers, the two most critical elements to compare are the material the chambers are made from, and the air chamber structural design. The right chamber design can provide greater control of air movement within your air bed, allowing you and your partner more personalized options to each sleep comfortably through the night, and being made from the most durable materials can provide years and years of support without degrading over time.
Air Chamber Material:While there have been various materials used to mke air chambers through the years, the most common materials used in modern air chamber fabrication are vulcanized rubber and medical grade urethane.
Vulcanized rubber air chambers cost less to manufacture and therefore are more commonly found in consumer air mattresses, however most medical beds in intensive care units and long term care facilities are made from medical grade urethane chambers, NOT vulcanized rubber chambers, because of thier robust design for durability, long lifespan and moisture repelling characteristics.
Benefits of Urethane Chambers over Vulcanized Rubber Chambers:- Vulcanized rubber chambers are known to collect moisture, requiring special moisture barriers, and in many cases have been linked to the growth of harmful bacteria and toxic mold within the air chambers.
- Urethane is a strong, odorless material that has excellent air holding characteristics yet allows moisture to transpire, keeping the interior dry and completely mold-free.
- Urethane material is soft and supple with a lifespan longer than nylon, PVC or vulcanized rubber
- Earth friendly - Urethane is easily recyclable - not true of vulcanized rubbers
- Urethane is a stable material and will not degrade over time like nylon, PVC and vulcanized rubber (old rubber bands)
All off the air chambers in our PlushAire™ Bed collection are made from 100% medical grade urethane, 15 mil thick (the standard for medical applications) and are sealed using Radio Frequency (RF) Technology, which is both cleaner, and much stronger than adhesive bonds.
Air Chamber Structural Design:
The most common, economical design used in modern air chambers are the 2 zone design (1 single bladder of air on each side of the bed). While this design does a fair job of allowing you to adjust the firmness or softness of the mattress, a single bladder design comes with several disadvantages.
First, you're limited to one pressure adjustment per side. Considering that most people invest in an air mattress for the freedom to personalize their firmness, why would you settle for controlling only one air zone on each side of the bed?
Secondly, the average person holds 50% of their weight in their torso area. Reducing the air pressure in a single bladder air chamber forces a bed to "hammock", offering no support in this critical area, resulting in lower back pain and excess hip pressure.
Finally, a single bladder design can not control uneven air movement within the bladder. For example, sitting on the edge of the bed or laying on your side in the middle, can result in a "ballooning sensation" as the flow of air quickly moves to a different section of the bed, often causing you to roll to the center or outside of the bed.
4 Zone Chambers - A Superior Air Chamber Design:
Just as important as controlling air pressure, controlling air movement within your air bed is a critical feature, since it genuinely helps distribute air more evenly, resulting in more uniform support so that you don't end up rolling to the center or outside of the mattress.
- In our 4-zone air chamber design, multiple zones within the air chambers allow for seperate settings for the torso zone and the head and foot zones. This eliminates "hammocking", promotes good spinal alignment and releives sleep disrupting pressure points.
- 4 zone systems provide twice the comfort control 2 zone systems provide, offering better contol over weight distribution and pressure point reduction for a deeper, restorative sleep.
- 100% inflation tested with self sealing valves
- Internal zones manufactured using Radio Frequency (RF) sealing technology at the seams and along surface edges, offering much stronger and durable bonds than the adhesive materials used by our competitors.
